007: License to Drive
007: License to Drive is a single-player top-down racing video game that was developed by Gamelion Studios and published by Glu Mobile in February 2011 for Java-capable mobile phone handsets. License to Drive is notable for being the last 007 video game to be developed for Sun Microsystems's mobile Java platform, Java ME. Plot After testing a new combat simulator (Level 1: Tutorial), James Bond is assigned to investigate a recently formed terrorist group in Beirut City. M instructs him to drive to the terrorists's safe house and make observations (Level 2: Beirut 1). Bond finds that there is no one there and they appear to have left recently. M informs him that MI6 intercepted panicked calls from the group to a handler. The handler was very concerned about an unidentified 'cargo', which the terrorists are moving in three trucks. 007 is subsequently ordered to pursue and destroy them (Level 3: Beirut 2). Due to damage sustained to his car, Bond is provided with a motorcycle for the mission and destroys the vehicles, finishing the last with a rocket-propelled grenade. M then contacts him and sends him to Greece in pursuit of the handler, who is going to transport the cargo on a ship docked in Thessaloniki (Level 4: '' Thessaloniki ). 12 hours later, Bond arrives by gadget-equipped speedboat and after fighting off hostile boats reports back to M that the ship is empty. He provides her its registry numbers, which she uses to trace the vessel’s owner – the arms dealer, Thierry Cogney. Bond travels to the South of France, where Thierry is attending the Cannes film festival. Knowing Cogney will be returning to his hotel shortly, Bond speeds through the streets in his car, outrunning the local police (Level 5: '' Cannes). He enters the hotel and pockets documents, revealing that Cogney is an ex-French foreign legion Colonel who served in the first Indochina War. A businessman, he owns a crab processing plant in Alaska and is suspected to be an arms dealer by US authorities. Travelling to Alaska, 007 is warned by M that Cogney is on to him and has mobilized his henchmen to stop him from reaching the plant (Level 6: Alaska). After discovering that he can't reach the factory by car, Tanner provides Bond with a jet ski to navigate the river to the plant (Level 7: Alaska 2). Reaching the plant, Bond discovers that the warehouse is stuffed with weapons and explosives. In addition, he discovers a number belonging to a student in Munich, Germany. Five helicopters attempt to escape with some of the weapons and Bond is ordered to shoot them down (Level 8: Alaska 3). Successful, 007 heads to Munich and is informed that the student has been flagged for arrest by German authorities. Bond races to get to him before he is moved to US custody - effectively thwarting MI6's investigation (Level 9: Munich). Interrogating the student, 007 extracts two Manila airline tickets. Travelling to Manilla, 007 is ordered to follow a truck leaving the harbor (Level 10: Manilla 1) and swaps his car for a boat (Level 11: Manilla 2). He reports that the 'cargo' has been moved once again and provides M with a name - La Flour Trinh - which MI6 attempt to track down as 007 escapes the harbor. It turns out that it is the name of a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. The Indian Prime Minister is staying at the hotel; leading M to surmise that he is the target. The Manila terrorist organization 007 has been battling has ties with the Pakistani ISI, which Cogney is using to perform the attack. The arms dealer stands to make a lot of money from starting a war between Pakistan and India; the entire region will be destabilized and he can traffic weapons to all sides of the fighting. M orders Bond to leave Manilla and head to Vietnam (Level 12: Manilla 3). Once there, M sends 007 the location of the 'cargo', which they have determined is a powerful explosive device. Bond 'borrows' a helicopter and sets off after the bomb (Level 13: '' Ho Chi Min City 1''); protecting the truck from enemies until he can board it and drive it to safety (Level 14: '' Ho Chi Min City 2''). The scheme foiled, M sends 007 to apprehend Cogney. However, 007 is already making for his farm with the bomb; aiming to 'force his retirement'. He detonates it, killing the arms dealer. Characters Bond_-_License_to_Drive.png|James Bond|link=James Bond (Timothy Dalton) M_-_License_to_Drive.png|M|link=M Tanner_-_License_to_Drive.png|Bill Tanner|link=Bill Tanner Thierry_Cogney.png|Thierry Cogney|link=Thierry Cogney Gameplay Developed for Java-equipped handsets, License to Drive is a vertical-scrolling racing game in which the player controls a variety of gadget-equipped vehicles through a series of obstacle-strewn tracks. Among the available vehicles are a car (presumably an Aston Martin), speedboat, jet ski and a helicopter. Vehicles are armed with forward-firing machine-guns by default, but can also be equipped with a large caliber cannon (shoots a steady stream of powerful bullets in 3 directions), side-mounted lasers, guided anti-air missiles (for fighting aircraft) and a rocket launcher (can wipe out whole clusters of obstacles). Gadgets include smokescreen (to slow down pursuing vehicles), road spikes (immobilize most of the encountered vehicles) and an invincibility gadget (enables the player to survive lethal attacks and situations). The player may only use two items at a time - a weapon and a gadget pickup. The vehicle is also equipped with a nitro boost for added speed, which can be topped up by collecting nitro power ups. Reception The last 007 video game to be developed for Sun Microsystems's mobile platform, Java ME, 007: License to Drive was a relatively obscure title; released at a time when the mobile gaming industry was increasingly moving to powerful smartphone platforms such as Android and iOS. As such, it received little media attention, with one of its few reviews slamming it as "probably one of the worst uses of a license you're every sic likely to come across". Aside from its clichéd title, the game's unresponsive vehicular handling received particular criticism; resulting in a 2 out-of-five from Pocket Gamer. Media Images 007_License_to_Drive_(1).jpg 007_License_to_Drive_(2).jpg 007_License_to_Drive_(4).jpg 007_License_to_Drive_(5).jpg Jet_Ski_in_Alaska_-_License_to_Drive.png 007_License_to_Drive_(3).jpg Snooping_at_Hotel_-_License_to_Drive.png Escourting_the_bomb_truck_-_License_to_Drive.png Bombing_Cogney_-_License_to_Drive.png Ending_screen_-_License_to_Drive.png Video 007 Licence to Drive References Category:James Bond video games Category:Racing games Category:Mobile games Category:Video games with original storyline